Nutrient Deficiency

[Jegs]

These are my Phoenix Roebellenii’s. 
This is my first year as a palm enthusiast.

These two were the first palm trees I bought.

I planted them in MiracoGro cactus palm and citrus potting soil mixed with extra sand for better drainage. 
 

After 3 months I started using liquid palm tree fertilizer (3.6-3-5.1)

I recently swapped to Lesco 8-2-12 +4 slow release fertilizer and fertilized them a week ago.
 

It seems they are showing a K deficiency now.

Should I add SulPoMag or do I need to give it time for the slow release fertilizer to work to correct the deficiency.

 

[Harry’s Palms]

The new growth looks great from what I can see. It is normal for the lower fronds to start to yellow as the palm pushes new growth. The nutrients from older fronds are used to feed the new fronds. I wouldn’t get too aggressive with fertilizer, slow release is much better , IMHO , than liquid. The other thing is that Phoenix Roebilini are solitary palms , often sold in groups , so you have three palms that will compete for available water and nutrients…..in one pot! In that size pot , they will quickly outgrow their home. Harry

[Looking Glass]

You have a combo of mild potassium and magnesium deficiency.  You shouldn’t have lingering yellow fronds.   The old fronds should go from green to yellow to brown very quickly, like in less than a week.  If they don’t, it means the palm doesn’t have enough fuel to power new growth, and is stealing it from the oldest living fronds before it should.  

The older fronds will never get better, but ideally you have to keep them on the palm until brown.  New green growth will have to replace them over time.  I’d probably do a little langbeinite/sul-po-mag, and tons of water.   Be careful though.  There’s less room for error in pots.  

Good news is these grow super fast in terms of number of fronds, but it takes a while to fully visually correct…. Like maybe a year.  

[SeanK]

2:1:3 is a good macro ratio for palms. You have a lot of palms growing in not much real estate.

[Jegs]

I might add these to try to boost Mn, Mg, and K nutrients

I’m very careful when fertilizing in pots for fear of burning. 
 

Isn’t there usually a delay in effects of malnourished palms.

I didn’t want to overload them without giving the Controlled release fertilizer time to work to correct the deficiency 

[Jegs]

I just performed a soil test on one of my P. Roebellenii’s and it’s showing depleted Nitrogen and Potash.

They were fertilized with Lesco 8-2-12 Control Release on July 28th.

Is it because it’s too hard to get enough fertilizer in those pots without overloading the area and burning the roots?

I made sure the fertilizer was evenly distributed and toiled the soil to about 3-4 inches to get more fertilizer in. 
 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

They are 3 solitary palms forced to artificially cluster and are competing to survive in a small space with limited resources. Often the weaker palm(s) die. Each palm wants its own pot and designated resources so they will never grow nicely together. Whether you decide to separate them is up to you. Maybe someone who knows potted pygmies better than I can give you tips on how to make 3 unhappy solitary palms into 3 separate happy ones.

[PalmatierMeg]

I didn't mention this yesterday but I don't recommend black-muck-in-rainbow-bags MiracleGro for anything except mud pies. You need a coarse, loose, free-draining soil supplemented with coco coir or perlite/pumice. Currently, I use Kellogg garden soil from HD but I'm always on the lookout for other options. MiracleGro has a nasty habit of ousting all other brands of bagged soil from garden centers. They're cruising for an anti-trust suit and I hope someone gives them one.

[Jegs]

@PalmatierMeg
I noticed that from miracle gro when I started getting into palm trees. After some studying about soil and the inability to find alternatives I started adding perlite and sand to brand new bags of miracle gro to increase drainage and lighten the soil up. 
Im gonna look into that soil you mentioned, thanks!

[Allen]

I use osmocote plus outdoor on mine for years now and it is in great shape